Editorial: Primed and ready for redistricting

As it starts its important work that will have a lasting effect on voters and California, a state panel Wednesday gained its final six members including one current and one former Ventura County resident.

The Star commends the painstaking, public selection process that led up to the completion of the first Citizens Redistricting Commission, which will draw up boundaries for California legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization districts.

The success of the process can be seen in the panel’s selection of Gabino Aguirre of Santa Paula. Mr. Aguirre, a former high school principal and former member of the Santa Paula City Council for two terms, brings tested judgment and a strong heart to the vital work of the commission.

Also selected as a commission member was Michelle DiGuilio-Matz, the daughter of former Ventura City Councilman Ray DiGuilio. She was raised in Ventura, but now lives in Stockton.

The now-completed 14-member bipartisan commission has the unenviable duty of trying to take the politics out of politics.

California voters authorized the project when they passed Proposition 11 in 2008. The commission’s task is to create fair, nongerrymandered districts that reflect population changes reported in the 2010 Census.

In years past, the once-a-decade redistricting typically has been controlled by the Legislature and the governor, resulting in electoral boundaries that often protected incumbents and helped both parties, especially the majority party.

The first eight members of the Citizens Redistricting Commission were selected last month by lottery from a pool of finalists after a months-long application process that attracted some 30,000 applicants. The eight met, reviewed the remaining finalists and selected six who could round out the commission with gender, ethnic and geographic diversity.

The commissioners will soon start a long process requiring them to attend hearings throughout California. Each member will be paid $300 per day worked.

It is our hope that Mr. Aguirre, Ms. DiGuilio-Matz and the 12 other members will bring a real-world perspective to the job and keep the project on target and on schedule to meet the Aug. 15 deadline.

The care that went into the selection of civic-minded commissioners also bodes well for the panel’s final product, which is likely to face legal challenges from supporters of the status quo.

Expecting politicians to uncomplainingly accept new boundaries for their next political campaign may be unrealistic, but the commission doesn’t have to answer to politicians as it maps out boundaries that make sense.